Pertamina Chief Says Loading and Unloading Delays Caused Bali Fuel Shortages
PT Pertamina president director Simon Aloysius Mantiri has revealed the cause of fuel shortages that have affected Bali in recent days. He said a Pertamina tanker encountered difficulties during loading and unloading and struggled to drop anchor.
“One of the main causes was that a vessel had difficulty anchoring while discharging its cargo yesterday,” Simon said at Pertamina’s Sanggaran depot in Denpasar on Tuesday (13 October 2026).
According to Simon, the problem caused a lengthy delay, with the vessel’s unloading taking several hours longer than planned. The operation, scheduled for 6.30am Central Indonesia Time, did not take place until 10pm.
However, Simon said he did not want to use the incident to justify the fuel crisis across Bali. He apologised to residents affected by the shortages in recent days.
“Once again, this incident is not an attempt to make excuses on our part. What matters most is serving the public,” Simon said.
He added that high public demand, particularly for Pertalite, was another factor behind the shortages. Simon said he understood that the substantial price difference between subsidised and non-subsidised fuel had contributed to increased demand for Pertalite.
“One factor is Pertalite, which is subsidised. The price disparity between non-subsidised and subsidised fuel is quite large, so there has been an increase in the use of subsidised fuel,” he said.
Pertamina had previously said it would deliver tens of millions of litres of fuel, which it estimated would be sufficient to meet Bali’s needs for two weeks. The first shipment arrived and was distributed on Tuesday, with further deliveries scheduled in stages on 15, 16 and 17 October.
Pertamina will also operate 92 service stations in Denpasar and Badung around the clock from Tuesday night (13 October). The Manggis and Sanggaran depots will also operate 24 hours a day. The company will increase the number of fuel distribution vehicles from 90 to 105.